Amanda BynesMy Bong Was 'Just a Vase'

5/24/2013 8:30 AM PDT

Amanda Bynes -- My Bong Was 'Just a Vase'

Amanda Bynes is back on the streets ... the judge released her on her own recognizance moments ago in NYC -- after she offered a hysterical excuse to cops for her alleged bong-tossing arrest.

According to cops, Amanda told them what she threw out the window last night was "just a vase." The official complaint was read in court.

Prosecutors requested Bynes be held in lieu of $1,000 bail. The judge instead chose to let her go without bail ... but gave her a stern warning that if she missed her court date in July an arrest warrant would be issued.

Amanda was escorted out of court by an officer ... and left, on her own, in a taxicab.

8:52 AM PT -- TMZ obtained the criminal complaint from the incident ... which says a man in Amanda's building told cops he witnessed the actress smoking a joint in the first floor lobby.

The report says an officer went to Amanda's room ... and saw a bong on the kitchen counter.

According to the report, the cop -- wearing a "full police uniform" -- asked Amanda about the bong ... and that's when the actress flipped out.

Here's the cop's narrative -- "I observed [Amanda] grab said bong, run to the westbound-facing window, and throw it out the window where numerous pedestrians were walking on the 8 Avenue and West 47 Street sidewalks below."

Bynes was immediately arrested for reckless endangerment, possession of weed and tampering with evidence.